Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Apparatus, System, and Method

ABSTRACT

A mobile device for use in an electronic logging device (ELD) system may include a processor and one or more memories which store, singularly or in combination, one or more instructions, which when executed by the processor cause the mobile device to carry out one or more operations. The one or more operations may include reading a machine readable code configured to be coupled to a vehicle, connecting to an ELD dongle based, at least in part, on the machine readable code, receiving data from the ELD dongle, and generating one or more mobile device reports based, at least in part, on the received data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present disclosure claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/395,728 filed on Sep. 16, 2016, and U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/400,881 filed on Sep. 28,2016, the entire disclosure of each being incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is related logging devices and more specificallyto electronic logging devices for use with motor vehicles.

BACKGROUND

Vehicle operators may be required to maintain records of their dutystatus by their employer and/or by legal regulation or law. In somecases, vehicle operators may maintain these records manually byentering, for example, operating time (e.g., drive time) to rest time(e.g., sleep time) into a log book.

However, the accuracy of manually entered records is subject to thediligence and honesty of the vehicle operator. For example, a vehicleoperator may intentionally record false entries to extend the timehe/she is able to drive. Furthermore, the economics of the transportindustry may encourage a vehicle operator to engage in dishonestbehavior because it may be economically rewarding. As a result, somevehicle operators may not be well rested when operating a respectivevehicle. This may, for example, increase the risk that the vehicleoperator may be involved in and/or create an accident and/or trafficincident with and/or between other motorists occupying a roadway.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages will be better understood byreading the following detailed description, taken together with thedrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example electronic logging device(ELD) system, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example ELD dongle communicativelycoupled to the ELD system of FIG. 1, consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an example of the ELD dongle of FIG. 2,consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an example of the ELD head which may be capableof being used with the ELD dongle of FIG. 2, consistent with embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of an embodiment of the ELD dongle of FIG.2 having a Deutsch 6-pin connector, consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5B is a perspective view of an embodiment of the ELD dongle of FIG.2 having a Deutsch 9-pin connector, consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5C is a perspective view of an embodiment of the ELD dongle of FIG.2 having an OBD-II connector, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of an embodiment of an interchangeablehead which may form at least part of the ELD dongle of FIG. 2,consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6B is another perspective view of an embodiment of aninterchangeable head which may form at least part of the ELD dongle ofFIG. 2, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7A shows an embodiment of an interchangeable dongle base having aDeutsch 9-pin connector capable of being used with the interchangeablehead of FIG. 6A and/or FIG. 6B, consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 7B shows an embodiment of an interchangeable dongle base having aDeutsch 6-pin connector capable of being used with the interchangeablehead of FIG. 6A and/or FIG. 6B, consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 7C shows an embodiment of an interchangeable dongle base having aOBD-II connector capable of being used with the interchangeable head ofFIG. 6A and/or FIG. 6B, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 8A shows a cross-sectional view of an example of the ELD dongle ofFIG. 2 having an interchangeable dongle base with a Deutsch 9-pinconnector communicatively coupled to an interchangeable head, consistentwith embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8B shows a cross-sectional view of an example of the ELD dongle ofFIG. 2 having an interchangeable dongle base with an OBD-II connectorcommunicatively coupled to an interchangeable head, consistent withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a conductive cable which may be capableof communicatively coupling to, for example, interchangeable head ofFIG. 6A and/or FIG. 6B, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an example of the interchangeable headof FIG. 6A and/or FIG. 6B being coupled to the conductive cable of FIG.9 using a cover, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another example of the interchangeablehead of FIG. 6A and/or FIG. 6B being coupled to the conductive cable ofFIG. 9 using a cover, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 12A is a perspective view of an embodiment of an ELD dongle basecoupled to, for example, the conductive cable of FIG. 9, wherein the ELDdongle base includes a Deutsch 9-pin connector, consistent withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12B is a perspective view of an embodiment of an ELD dongle basecoupled to, for example, the conductive cable of FIG. 9, wherein the ELDdongle base includes a Deutsch 6-pin connector, consistent withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12C is a perspective view of an embodiment of an ELD dongle basecoupled to, for example, the conductive cable of FIG. 9, wherein the ELDdongle base includes an OBD-II connector, consistent with embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of an example of the mobile device ofFIG. 1 communicatively coupled to the ELD system of FIG. 1, consistentwith embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14A is an example view of a graphical user interface for the mobiledevice of FIG. 1, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14B is another example view of a graphical user interface for themobile device of FIG. 1, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 14C is another example view of a graphical user interface for themobile device of FIG. 1, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 14D is another example view of a graphical user interface for themobile device of FIG. 1, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 14E is another example view of a graphical user interface for themobile device of FIG. 1, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 14F is another example view of a graphical user interface for themobile device of FIG. 1, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 15 is a schematic example of a remote server communicativelycoupled to the ELD system of FIG. 1, consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 16 is an example of the ELD system of FIG. 1, consistent withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is another example of the ELD system of FIG. 1, consistent withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 18 is an example of operations that may be carried out by the ELDdongle of FIG. 2, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is an example of operations that may be carried out by themobile device of FIG. 13, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 20 is an example of operations that may be carried out by theremote server of FIG. 15, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is generally directed to an electronic loggingdevice (ELD) system for recording and transmitting data relating to avehicle. The ELD system may include an ELD dongle configured to becommunicatively coupled to a vehicle, a mobile device configured to becommunicatively coupled to the ELD dongle, and a remote serverconfigured to be communicatively coupled to the mobile device. The ELDdongle may receive data from the vehicle and transmit the data to themobile device. The mobile device, upon receiving the data from the ELDdongle, may generate one or more mobile device reports based on thereceived data. The mobile device may also transmit the received data tothe remote server such that the remote server can also generate one ormore remote server reports based on the data transmitted by the mobiledevice.

The ELD dongle may include an ELD head and an ELD base and may beconfigured to communicatively couple to a diagnostics port of thevehicle. The ELD head may be removably/detachably coupled to the ELDbase. This may allow the ELD head to be positioned at a location withinthe vehicle that is not adjacent to the diagnostics port and/or allowthe ELD head to be coupled to multiple ELD bases.

The mobile device may communicatively couple to/establish a connectionwith the ELD dongle in response to reading a machine readable code(e.g., a quick response code). Once the connection is established, theELD dongle may encrypt the data that is transmitted to the mobiledevice. As such, data transmitted using the connection establishedbetween the ELD dongle and the mobile device may be resistant totampering.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic example of an electronic logging device (ELD)system 100 having a mobile device 102 (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, alaptop computer, or any other similar device), an ELD dongle 104, and aremote server 106. The mobile device 102 may be in communication withthe ELD dongle 104 using a first data connection 108 (e.g., cellularconnection, Bluetooth, including low energy Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, UniversalSerial Bus (USB), Ethernet, and/or other suitable communicationstandards). The mobile device 102 may also be in communication with theremote server 106 using a second data connection 110 (e.g., cellularconnection, Bluetooth, including low energy Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, UniversalSerial Bus, Ethernet, and other suitable communication standards). In anembodiment, the first data connection 108 between the mobile device 102and the ELD dongle 104 is a Bluetooth connection and the second dataconnection 110 between the mobile device 102 and/or the remote server106 is a cellular connection (e.g., GSM, UMTS, LTE, or any othersuitable cellular connection). In other words, in some instances, thefirst data connection 108 may be generally described as a short rangedata connection and the second data connection 110 may be generallydescribed as a long range data connection.

In some instances, the ELD dongle 104 is capable of communicatingdirectly with the remote server 106 using a third data connection 112(e.g., cellular connection, Bluetooth, including low energy Bluetooth,including low energy Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Universal Serial Bus, Ethernet,and/or other suitable communication standards). In one exampleembodiment, the third data connection 112 between the ELD dongle 104 andthe remote server 106 is a cellular connection (e.g., GSM, UMTS, LTE,and/or any other suitable cellular connection).

As shown, the ELD dongle 104 may be communicatively coupled to a vehicle114 using, for example, a diagnostics port 116 of the vehicle 114. Insome instances, the ELD dongle 104 may generally be described as beingphysically coupled to the vehicle 114 via diagnostics port 116. Thediagnostics port 116 may be communicatively coupled to an electroniccontrol unit 118 (e.g., one or more of an engine control module, atransmission control module, a power train control module, a brakecontrol module, a central control module, a central timing module, ageneral electronic module, a body control module, a suspension controlmodule, and the like) that monitors and/or controls one or morecharacteristics of the vehicle 114. In other words, the electroniccontrol unit 118 may be generally described as at least generatingvehicle data. The diagnostics port 116 may be used to facilitate the ELDdongle 104 communicating with the electronic control unit 118. In someinstances, the ELD dongle 104 may generate data in addition to vehicledata received from the electronic control unit 118. For example, the ELDdongle 104 may include one or more sensors (e.g., an accelerometer) fordetecting a condition of the vehicle 114. Therefore, the ELD dongle 104may communicate data generated by the vehicle and data generated by theELD dongle to the mobile device 102 and/or the remote server 106 usingthe first and/or third data connections 108 and 112.

The electronic control unit 118 may use a vehicle bus to facilitatecommunication between components in the vehicle 114 using acommunication standard. In some instances, a different communicationstandard may be used by different vehicle types (e.g., light, medium,and heavy trucks may all use different communication standards). Forexample, the communication standard may be a J1708 standard on a RS485bus, a J1587 standard on a RS485 bus, a J1939 standard on a controllerarea network (CAN) bus, a J15765 standard on a CAN bus, a J1587 standardon a J1708 bus, or any other suitable standard and/or suitable bus. Inother words, each bus type and/or vehicle type may utilize a differentcommunication standard. Accordingly, in some instances, the ELD dongle104 may be capable of identifying which communication standard is beingused by the bus. In some instances, the ELD dongle 104 may automatically(e.g., without user interaction) determine which communication standardis being utilized by the bus. This may prevent the ELD dongle 104 frominterfering with the operation of, for example, the electronic controlunit 118.

In some instances, the electronic control unit 118 may broadcast datarelated to the monitored characteristics to any device coupled to thediagnostics port 116. In other words, data related to monitoredcharacteristics is automatically transmitted to the ELD dongle 104 whenthe ELD dongle 104 is communicatively coupled to the diagnostics port116. In these instances, the ELD dongle 104 may determine thecommunication standard by comparing the broadcast data signals to aplurality of know data signals associated with a respectivecommunication standard. In other instances, the electronic control unit118 may only transmit data related to monitored characteristics uponreceiving a request from a device coupled to the diagnostics port 116.In other words, data related to the monitored characteristics will onlybe transmitted to the ELD dongle 104 when the ELD dongle 104 isconnected to the diagnostics port 116 and makes a request to receivedata related to the monitored characteristics. In these instances, theELD dongle 104 may determine the communication standard by transmittinga plurality of requests for data until a desired response is received,wherein each of the plurality of requests is associated with a differentcommunication standard.

The diagnostics port 116 may include, for example, an onboarddiagnostics port-II (OBD-II) connector, a Deutsch 6-pin connector, or aDeutsch 9-pin connector, or any other suitable diagnostic portconnector. The data provided to the ELD dongle 104 via the diagnosticsport 116 may include speed data (e.g., wheel speed in miles per hour),ignition status data, revolutions per minute (RPM) of the engine (e.g.,engine speed), total miles, brake status, clutch status, and/or anyother diagnostic data.

In some instances, the ELD dongle 104 may be synchronized with theengine and/or motor of the vehicle 114 such that the ELD dongle 104 mayrecord engine/motor synchronization data. In other words, the ELD dongle104 may automatically capture one or more of, for example, theoperational status of the engine and/or motor, the speed of the vehicle114 (and/or an indicator as to whether or not the vehicle 114 ismoving), the total number of hours that the engine and/or motor of thevehicle 114 has operated over the life of the vehicle 114, the totalnumber of miles the vehicle 114 has traveled over the life of thevehicle 114, and the like. When the ELD dongle 104 is connected and/ordisconnected from the diagnostics port 116, a time stamp may be includedfor any data collected. For example, a time stamp may be included withthe engine/motor synchronization data when the ELD dongle 104 isdisconnected from the diagnostics port 116.

While the ELD system 100 of FIG. 1 only illustrates a single vehicle114, a single remote server 106, and a single mobile device 102, the ELDsystem 100 is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the ELDsystem 100 may include two or more vehicles 114, ELD dongles 104, and/ormobile devices 102. In some instances, two or more remote servers 106may be used. Therefore, although the present disclosure may describesome features in the context of a single vehicle 114, a single ELDdongle 104, a single mobile device 102, and/or a single remote server106 it is only for the purposes of clarity and not for the purposes oflimitation. In other words, any of the features described herein may beapplied to an ELD system 100 including any number of vehicles 114, ELDdongles 104, mobile devices 102, and/or remote servers 106.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic example of an embodiment of the ELD dongle 104of FIG. 1. As shown, the ELD dongle 104 may include a housing 202, adiagnostics communication interface 204, and a mobile devicecommunication interface 206. The diagnostics communication interface 204may be at least partially enclosed by the housing 202 and may becommunicatively coupled to the diagnostics port 116 of FIG. 1 such thatthe ELD dongle 104 is capable of receiving vehicle data from the vehicle114. The diagnostics communication interface 204 may be compatible withan OBD-II connector, a Deutsch 6-pin connector, a Deutsch 9-pinconnector, or any other suitable diagnostic port connector. The mobiledevice communication interface 206 may be communicatively coupled to themobile device 102 of FIG. 1. Therefore, the mobile device communicationinterface 206 may be compatible with a cellular connection (e.g., GSM,UMTS, LTE, or any other suitable cellular connection), Bluetooth(including low energy Bluetooth), Wi-Fi, Universal Serial Bus, Ethernet,and/or other suitable communication standards that may facilitatecommunication with the mobile device 102. However, if the mobile devicecommunication interface 206 utilizes a cellular network (e.g., GSM,UMTS, LTE, and/or any other suitable cellular connection) the mobiledevice communication interface 206 may communicate directly with theremote server 106 of FIG. 1 without necessarily communicating with themobile device 102.

In some instances, the ELD dongle 104 may include a pass-throughdiagnostics interface 205 at least partially enclosed by the housing202. The pass-through diagnostics interface 205 may be communicativelycoupled to the diagnostics port 116 of the vehicle 114 such that whenthe ELD dongle 104 is coupled to the diagnostics port 116, thediagnostics port 116 is still accessible for diagnostics purposes. Inother words, the ELD dongle 104 does not need to be removed in order foran additional device to be communicatively coupled to the diagnosticsport 116. Therefore, the pass-through diagnostics interface 205 may becompatible with an OBD-II connector, a Deutsch 6-pin connector, or aDeutsch 9-pin connector, or any other suitable diagnostic portconnector.

As shown, the ELD dongle 104 may include a processor 208 incommunication with a memory 210. The memory 210 may store instructionsfor the operation of the ELD dongle 104 and/or may store data receivedfrom the electronic control unit 118 of FIG. 1. In some instances, thememory 210 may store one or more instructions and/or databases thatallow the ELD dongle 104 to automatically determine the communicationprotocol used by the bus for the electronic control unit 118. Forexample, the ELD dongle 104 may receive data from the electronic controlunit 118 and, based on the received data, determine, using the processor208 and the memory 210, which communication protocol is being used. Whenthe communication protocol is determined, the ELD dongle 104 maytransmit the data to, for example, the mobile device 102. In someinstances, the ELD dongle 104 may include circuitry and/or one or moreinstructions stored in the memory 210 capable of ensuring proper timingbetween the ELD dongle and the electronic control unit 118 and/or thatprovides error handling capabilities in the event of an error duringcommunication between the ELD dongle 104 and the electronic control unit118.

The data transmitted to the mobile device 102 may be converted to aformat usable, for example, by the mobile device 102 by the ELD dongle104 using at least the processor 208 and the memory 210 prior to sendingthe data to the mobile device 102. In some instances, the ELD dongle 104may transmit the data directly to the mobile device 102 withoutconversion. As such, in some instances, the mobile device 102 mayconvert the data received from the electronic control unit 118 or mayuse the data without conversion.

In some instances, the memory 210 may store data received from theelectronic control unit 118. For example, the memory 210 may store datareceived from the electronic control unit 118 when the first dataconnection 108 between the mobile device 102 and the ELD dongle 104and/or the third data connection 112 between the remote server 106 andthe ELD device 104 has not been established and/or is not functioning.When the first and/or third data connection 108 and 112 is restored, thedata stored on the memory 210 may be transferred to the mobile device102 and/or the remote server 106 and erased from the memory 210. In someinstances, the memory 210 may retain data received from the electroniccontrol unit 118 for a predetermined period of time (e.g., 1 month, 2months, 4 months, 6 months, and/or any other suitable period of time).The memory 210 may have a storage capacity of, for example, 4 megabytes(MB) 8 MB, 16 MB, 128 MB, 256 MB, or any other suitable storagecapacity.

The memory 210 may also include instructions that, when executed by theprocessor 208, identify an operator of the vehicle 114 of FIG. 1. Forexample, the mobile device 102 may transmit identifying information tothe ELD dongle 104. The ELD dongle 104 may then associate the presentoperation of the vehicle 114 with the operator possessing the mobiledevice 102. The identifying information transmitted by the mobile device102 may be generated when, for example, the operator of the vehicle 114enters identifying information (e.g., a user name and/or password) intoan application executing on the mobile device 102. Additionally, oralternatively, the mobile device 102 may associate the received datawith an identifier corresponding to the operator of the vehicle 114 inresponse to the ELD dongle 104 identifying the operator of the vehicle114. If, however, the ELD dongle 104 does not receive identifyinginformation, the ELD dongle 104 may still record the data but associatethe data with an unidentified operator identifier. In these instances,the operator of the vehicle 114 may manually associate the received datawith his/her identifier at a later time.

In some instances, multiple individuals may be present in the vehicle114. Each individual may possess a mobile device 102 capable ofcommunicating with the ELD dongle 104, however, only a single individualmay be capable of having operator status. In this instance, the memory210 may include instructions that when executed by the processor 208,cause the ELD dongle 104 to identify an operator of the vehicle 114 anda passenger of the vehicle 114. This may be done, for example, by eachindividual signing into an application on the mobile device 102 andentering the position they will be occupying (e.g., operator orpassenger). In some instances, for example, when the mobile devices 102communicate with the ELD dongle 104 using a wireless connection (such asBluetooth), the ELD dongle 104 may determine a status of the individualswithin the vehicle 114 based on proximity to the ELD dongle 104. Thismay be accomplished, for example, by measuring and comparing the signalstrengths of the wireless signals connecting the mobile devices 102 tothe ELD dongle 104. In some instances, the mobile device 102 having thestrongest signal strength may be assumed to be the mobile device 102belonging to the operator of the vehicle 114.

As shown, the ELD dongle 104 may further include a global positioningsystem (GPS) receiver 212 capable of connecting to a GPS network. TheGPS receiver 212 may include and/or be electrically coupled to a GPSantenna 214. In some instances, the GPS antenna 214 may be positioned ata location external to the ELD dongle 104 (e.g., outside the vehicle114). The GPS receiver 212 may allow the ELD dongle 104 to record theposition of the vehicle 114. The position of the vehicle 114 may be usedto determine, for example, the speed of the vehicle 114, the distancetraveled by the vehicle 114, the route traveled by the vehicle 114,and/or other similar data. In some instances, the GPS receiver 212 mayreceive clock data from the GPS network. Therefore, the GPS receiver 212may be used, for example, to calculate a time that the vehicle 114 isoperating (e.g., the engine and/or motor is active) and a time that thevehicle 114 is not operating (e.g., the engine and/or motor isinactive). In some instances, the clock data may be used, for example,to generate one or more time stamps.

As also shown, the ELD dongle 104 may include a clock 216. The clock 216may be a hardware clock, a software clock, or a combination thereof. Forexample, the clock 216 may include circuitry capable of measuringelapsed time. The elapsed time may be a measure of time when the engineand/or motor for the vehicle 114 is active and/or the elapsed time maybe a measure of time when the engine and/or motor for the vehicle isinactive. In other words, the clock 216 may be used, at least in part,in determining on-duty time and off-duty time for an operator of thevehicle 114. In some instances, the clock 216 may be a software clockbased on instructions stored in the memory 210. In these instances, theclock 216 may be based on the clock cycles of the processor 208.

When the clock 216 is included, the time the engine and/or motor of thevehicle 114 is active may be recorded even when the GPS receiver 212 hasyet to connect to the GPS network. In other words, timing data can becollected when the vehicle is either not able to connect to the GPSnetwork or is attempting to connect to the GPS network. This may bebeneficial to the operation of the ELD dongle 104 because, to conservepower, the ELD dongle 104 may deactivate the GPS receiver 212 when theengine and/or motor of the vehicle 114 is inactive. Therefore, when theengine and/or motor becomes active, the GPS receiver 212 may have toreconnect to the GPS network upon receiving power. As a result, duringthe reconnection period the clock 216 may provide time data. Forexample, the clock 216 may be used to generate one or more time stampswhen the ELD dongle 104 is connected and/or disconnected from thediagnostics port 116.

As shown, the ELD dongle 104 may include an accelerometer 217. Theaccelerometer 217 may be used to detect rapid and/or sudden decelerationof the vehicle 114. The rapid and/or sudden deceleration of the vehicle114 may indicate the occurrence of a traffic incident and/or accident.In response to a rapid and/or sudden deceleration the ELD dongle 104 maysave data received from the electronic control unit 118 in the memory210 such that the ELD dongle 104 operates similar to a black boxrecorder (or traffic incident recorder). In other words, the ELD dongle104 may be generally described as generating an incident record. Forexample, the ELD dongle 104 may save data received from the electroniccontrol unit 118 from at least two minutes prior to the detected rapidand/or sudden deceleration to at least ten seconds after the detectedrapid and/or sudden deceleration to the memory 210. As such, this datamay be later analyzed to determine, at least partially, thecircumstances surrounding the traffic incident and/or accident.Additionally, or alternatively, in some instances, the black box datamay be stored in the mobile device 102.

In some instances, the ELD dongle 104 may include a secure chip 218. Thesecure chip 218 may be used to encrypt communications and/or data (e.g.,vehicle data) transmitted from the ELD dongle 104. For example, thesecure chip 218 may encrypt data transmitted over the first dataconnection 108 between the mobile device 102 and the ELD dongle 104. Thesecure chip 218 may also be used to encrypt data stored in the memory210. For example, the secure chip 218 may encrypt operational data(e.g., vehicle data, data gathered by one or more sensors of the ELDdongle 104, and/or any other operational data) of the vehicle 114associated with an operator of the vehicle 114. By encrypting theoperational data of the vehicle 114, the operator of the vehicle 114 maybe prevented from tampering with the data. This may ensure that accuratedetails regarding the operation of the vehicle 114 are stored. Forexample, when an operator of the vehicle 114 is required to maintain ahours of service (HOS) log/report, the encryption may prevent theoperator from altering data recorded by the ELD dongle 104 that relatesat least to HOS log/report.

In some instances, the secure chip 218 may be used to verify an identityof an operator of the vehicle 114. For example, the ELD dongle 104 maystore an operator's login credentials in the memory 210 and/or thesecure chip 218. Therefore, the secure chip 218 may encrypt the logincredentials stored on the memory 210 or may store the login credentialsin secure memory within the secure chip 218. As a result, an operator ofthe vehicle 114 and/or a third party may be prevented from alteringand/or gaining access to the login credentials used to verify anidentity of an operator of the vehicle 114. This may be beneficial if,for example, the login credentials used to verify the identity of theoperator of the vehicle 114 are the same as the login credentials toallow the operator of the vehicle 114 to access the remote server 106.

In some instances, the secure chip 218 may be used to verifyauthenticity of firmware updates to be installed on the ELD dongle 104.For example, the secure chip 218 may verify the authenticity of firmwareupdates based, at least in part, on one or more digital signatures.

The various encryption functions may utilize one or more of asymmetriccryptography (e.g., elliptic curve cryptography with NIST or Brainpool256-bit and/or 384-bit curves, elliptic curve digital signaturealgorithm with SHA-256 and/or SHA-384, elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman,and/or other suitable asymmetric cryptographic approaches), symmetriccryptography (e.g., key wrapping using AES-128/AES-256, secure channelprotocols using AES-128, and/or other suitable symmetric cryptographicapproaches), and/or any other suitable cryptographic approach. In someinstances the secure chip 218 may include a secure operating system.

One example of the secure chip 218 is the STSAFE-A100 (manufactured bySTMicroelectronics NV, headquarter in Geneva Switzerland). However, thepresent disclosure is not limited to using the STSAFE-A100 as the securechip 218. Instead, the STSAFE-A100 merely represents one illustrativeexample of the secure chip 218 and any suitable chip may be used.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the ELD dongle 104 of FIG. 1 and/or FIG.2. As shown, the diagnostics communication interface 204 of the ELDdongle 104 may be positioned at a connection end 302 of an ELD donglebase 303 of the ELD dongle 104. The connection end 302 may include adiagnostic port connector 304 that corresponds to an OBD-II connector, aDeutsch 6-pin connector, a Deutsch 9-pin connector, or any othersuitable diagnostic port connector. The ELD dongle 104 may also includean ELD head 306. The ELD head 306 may be coupled to the ELD dongle base303 and may be electrically coupled to the diagnostic port connector304. The ELD head 306 may include one or more of the mobile devicecommunication interface 206, the processor 208, the memory 210, the GPSreceiver 212, the GPS antenna 214, the clock 216, the accelerometer 217,the secure chip 218, and/or any other suitable component.

As shown, the ELD dongle 104 may have a dongle height 308 and a donglewidth 310. The dongle height 308 and the dongle width 310 may beselected such that the ELD dongle 104 may be positioned within thevehicle 114 without substantially interfering with the operation of thevehicle 114. For example, a ratio of the dongle height 308 to the donglewidth 310 may be in a range of 1:2 to 1:4. More specifically, a ratio ofthe dongle height 308 to the dongle width 310 may be in a range of 3:4to 1:1. By way of further example, the dongle height 308 may measure ina range of 45 millimeters (mm) to 50 mm and the dongle width 310 maymeasure in a range of 55 mm to 65 mm. More specifically, the dongleheight 308 may measure 48.0 mm and the dongle width 310 may measure 61.2mm.

As also shown, an ELD head height 312 may be less than a separationdistance 314 between the ELD head 306 and the connection end 302. Forexample, a ratio of the ELD head height 312 to the separation distance314 may be in a range of 1:2 to 1:5. More specifically, a ratio of theELD head height 312 to the separation distance 314 may be in a range of1:2 to 1:3.

In some instances, the dongle width 310 may be greater than a connectorwidth 316. For example, a ratio of the dongle width 310 to the connectorwidth 316 may be in a range of 1:1 to 2:1. More specifically, a ratio ofthe dongle width 310 to the connector width 316 may be in a range of 4:3to 5:3.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the ELD head 306. As shown, the ELD head306 may have a circular geometry. However, such a geometry isnon-limiting. For example, the ELD head 306 may have a square,rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, pentagonal, and/or any othersuitable geometric shape. In some instances, an operator facing surface402 of the ELD head may include one or more status indicators (e.g.,light emitting diodes) for displaying information regarding the ELDdongle 104. The status indicators may indicate, for example, anexistence of a connection status between the mobile device 102 and theELD dongle 104 and/or a connection status between the ELD dongle 104 andthe electronic control unit 118. In some instances, the status indicatormay include a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emittingdiode (OLED) display, and/or any other suitable display.

FIG. 5A shows an embodiment of the ELD dongle 104, wherein thediagnostic port connector 304 includes a Deutsch 6-pin connector. FIG.5B shows an embodiment of the ELD dongle 104, wherein the diagnosticport connector 304 includes a Deutsch 9-pin connector. FIG. 5C shows anembodiment of the ELD dongle 104, wherein the diagnostic port connector304 includes an OBD-II connector. In some instances, the ELD dongle base303 is coupled to the ELD head 306 such that the ELD head 306 is notinterchangeable with multiple diagnostic port connectors 304. In otherwords, the ELD dongle 104 can only be connected to a single type ofdiagnostics port (e.g., Deutsch 6-pin, Deutsch 9-pin, OBD-II, or anyother suitable diagnostics port).

FIGS. 6A and 6B show an embodiment of the ELD head 306 that is capableof being electrically coupled to multiple diagnostic port connectors304. Therefore, the ELD dongle 104 may include interchangeable ELDdongle bases 303, each having a different type of diagnostic portconnector 304. In other words, the ELD head 306 is detachably coupled toa respective ELD dongle base 303. As shown, the ELD head 306 may includean ELD head connector 602 capable of being electrically coupled to thediagnostic port connector 304. In some instances, the ELD head connector602 may be a male connector. Therefore, the ELD head connector 602 maybe received within a corresponding female connector electrically coupledto one of the diagnostics port connectors 304 that may correspond to arespective interchangeable ELD dongle base 303. However, in someinstances, the ELD head connector 602 may be a female connector capableof receiving a corresponding male connector.

The ELD head 306 may include an ELD head housing 604. The ELD headhousing 604 may include a head mechanical connector 606. The headmechanical connector 606 may be used to mechanically couple the ELD head306 to, for example, the ELD dongle base 303 (e.g., by a snap-fit, afriction-fit, and/or a similar form of connection). In some instances,the head mechanical connector 606 may couple an electrical connectorthat includes, for example, a conductive medium, to the ELD head 306.Regardless, the head mechanical connector 606 may prevent or otherwisemitigate the risk that the electrical connection between the ELD head306 and the diagnostic port connector 304 will be unintentionally brokenduring operation of the ELD dongle 104.

FIG. 7A shows an embodiment of an interchangeable ELD dongle base 303,wherein the diagnostics port connector 304 is a Deutsch 9-pin connector.As shown, the ELD dongle base 303 includes an ELD dongle base connector702 electrically coupled to the diagnostics port connector 304. The ELDdongle base connector 702 may correspond to, for example, the ELD headconnector 602. As shown, the ELD dongle base 303 may include a basemechanical connector 704 that corresponds to, for example, the headmechanical connector 606.

FIG. 7B shows an embodiment of an interchangeable ELD dongle base 303,wherein the diagnostics port connector 304 is a Deutsch 6-pin connector.As shown, the ELD dongle base 303 includes an ELD dongle base connector702 electrically coupled to the diagnostics port connector 304. The ELDdongle base connector 702 may correspond to, for example, the ELD headconnector 602. As shown, the ELD dongle base 303 may include a basemechanical connector 704 that corresponds to, for example, the headmechanical connector 606.

FIG. 7C shows an embodiment of an interchangeable ELD dongle base 303,wherein the diagnostics port connector 304 is an OBD-II connector. Asshown, the ELD dongle base 303 includes an ELD dongle base connector 702electrically coupled to the diagnostics port connector 304. The ELDdongle base connector 702 may correspond to, for example, the ELD headconnector 602. As shown, the ELD dongle base 303 may include a basemechanical connector 704 that corresponds to, for example, the headmechanical connector 606.

FIG. 8A shows a cross-sectional view of an example of the ELD dongle 104including the interchangeable ELD dongle base 303, which may include aDeutsch 9-pin connector. As shown, the ELD head 306 includes the ELDhead connector 602 electrically coupled to a corresponding ELD donglebase connector 702 within the ELD dongle base 303. The ELD dongle baseconnector 702 may be electrically coupled to the diagnostics portconnector 304.

FIG. 8B shows a cross-sectional view of another example of the ELDdongle 104 including the interchangeable ELD dongle base 303, which mayinclude an OBD-II connector. As shown, the ELD head 306 includes the ELDhead connector 602 electrically coupled to a corresponding ELD donglebase connector 702 within the ELD dongle base 303. The ELD dongle baseconnector 702 may be electrically coupled to the diagnostics portconnector 304.

Therefore, in both FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, the ELD head 306 is removeablycoupled to a corresponding interchangeable ELD dongle base 303. As such,if the vehicle 114 includes a diagnostics port 116 that does notcorrespond to the diagnostics port connector 304 of the ELD dongle 104,the operator of the vehicle 114 may disconnect the interchangeable ELDdongle base 303 from the ELD head 306 and connect an interchangeable ELDdongle base 303 that includes a diagnostics port connector 304 thatcorresponds to the diagnostics port 116. In some instances, theinterchangeable ELD dongle base 303 may facilitate the ELD dongle 104being used in multiple vehicles 114.

As also shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the head mechanical connector 606forms a snap-fit connection with the ELD dongle base 303. In theseinstances, a user may disconnect the ELD head 306 from the ELD donglebase 303 by, for example, exerting a compressive force on the sides ofthe ELD dongle base 303 and exerting a tensile force on the ELD dongle104.

In some embodiments, the ELD head 306 may be electrically coupled to thediagnostics port connector 304 using, for example, a conductive cable902. As shown in FIG. 9, the conductive cable 902 includes a firstelectrical connector 904 and a second electrical connector 906. Thefirst electrical connector 904 may correspond to the ELD head connector602 and the second electrical connector 906 may correspond to the ELDdongle base connector 702. In some instances, the second electricalconnector 906 may correspond to the diagnostics port 116 of the vehicle114. Therefore, in some instances, the first and second electricalconnectors 904 and 906 may be different. In other instances, the firstand second electrical connectors 904 and 906 may be the same.

In operation, the conductive cable 902 electrically couples the ELD head306 to the diagnostics port connector 304. By coupling the ELD head 306to the diagnostics port connector 304 using the conductive cable 902,the ELD head 306 may be positioned in locations that are not proximatethe diagnostics port 116 of the vehicle 114. For example, in someinstances, when the ELD head 306 is coupled to the ELD dongle base 303,the ELD dongle 104 may be physically too large to fit in a location ofthe vehicle 114 that is proximate to the diagnostics port 116.Therefore, the conductive cable 902 may be used to separate the ELD head306 from the ELD dongle base 303 such that only the ELD dongle base 303needs to be positioned in a location proximate to the diagnostics port116.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the conductive cable 902 is coupled to theELD head 306 using a cover 1002. The cover 1002 may be removable suchthat an operator of the vehicle 114 may disconnect the conductive cable902 and couple the ELD head 306 directly to, for example, the ELD donglebase 303. Therefore, the cover 1002 may include mechanical connectorscapable of engaging the head mechanical connector 606 of the ELD headhousing 604. The cover 1002 may include an attachment mechanism 1004coupled thereto. The attachment mechanism 1004 may be used, for example,to attach the cover 1002 to the vehicle 114. Therefore, the attachmentmechanism 1004 may be, for example, any one or more of an adhesive, anadhesive tape, a hook and loop fastener, a mechanical fastener (e.g., ascrew, a bolt, a snap-fit, a friction-fit, or other suitable mechanicalfastener), a magnetic fastener, or any other suitable form ofattachment.

The conductive cable 902 may be electrically coupled to the ELD headconnector 602. In some instances, the conductive cable 902 may beelectrically coupled to the ELD head connector 602 using the firstelectrical connector 904 of the conductive cable 902. Therefore, the ELDhead 306 may be disconnected from the cover 1002 without damaging theconductive cable 902 and/or the ELD head connector 602. In otherinstances, the ELD head connector 602 may be coupled to the conductivecable 902 using one or more conductive wires. In these instances, theELD head 306 may not be removable from the cover 1002 without causingdamage to the conductive cable 902 and/or the ELD head connector 602.

While FIG. 11 shows the cover 1002 as transparent, the cover 1002 doesnot need to be transparent. The cover 1002 is shown as transparent forthe purposes of clarity and not by way of limitation.

FIG. 12A shows an embodiment of the ELD dongle base 303 coupled to theconductive cable 902, wherein the diagnostics port connector 304 is aDeutsch 9-pin connector. The conductive cable 902 may be electricallycoupled to the diagnostics port connector 304 using, for example, thesecond electrical connector 906. In these instances, the conductivecable 902 may be removable from the ELD dongle base 303 without causingdamage to the conductive cable 902 and/or the diagnostics port connector304. However, in some instances, the conductive cable 902 may beelectrically coupled to the diagnostics port connector 304 using one ormore conductive wires. In these instances, the conductive cable 902 maynot be removable from the ELD dongle base 303 without causing damage tothe conductive cable 902 and/or the diagnostics port connector 304. Asshown, the ELD head 306 is not coupled to the ELD dongle base 303. Assuch, the overall size of the ELD dongle 104 proximate the diagnosticsport 116 of the vehicle 114 may be reduced relative to an ELD dongle 104having the ELD head 306 coupled directly to the ELD dongle base 303.

FIG. 12B shows an embodiment of the ELD dongle base 303 coupled to theconductive cable 902, wherein the diagnostics port connector 304 is aDeutsch 6-pin connector. The conductive cable 902 may be electricallycoupled to the diagnostics port connector 304 using, for example, thesecond electrical connector 906. In these instances, the conductivecable may be removable from the ELD dongle base 303 without causingdamage to the conductive cable 902 and/or the diagnostics port connector304. However, in some instances, the conductive cable 902 may beelectrically coupled to the diagnostics port connector 304 using one ormore conductive wires. In these instances, the conductive cable 902 maynot be removable from the ELD dongle base 303 without causing damage tothe conductive cable 902 and/or the diagnostics port connector 304. Asshown, the ELD head 306 is not coupled to the ELD dongle base 303. Assuch, the overall size of the ELD dongle 104 proximate the diagnosticsport 116 of the vehicle 114 may be reduced relative to an ELD dongle 104having the ELD head 306 coupled directly to the ELD dongle base 303.

FIG. 12C shows an embodiment of the ELD dongle base 303 coupled to theconductive cable 902, wherein the diagnostics port connector 304 is anOBD-II connector. The conductive cable 902 may be electrically coupledto the diagnostics port connector 304 using, for example, the secondelectrical connector 906. In these instances, the conductive cable maybe removable from the ELD dongle base 303 without causing damage to theconductive cable 902 and/or the diagnostics port connector 304. However,in some instances, the conductive cable 902 may be electrically coupledto the diagnostics port connector 304 using one or more conductivewires. In these instances, the conductive cable 902 may not be removablefrom the ELD dongle base 303 without causing damage to the conductivecable 902 and/or the diagnostics port connector 304. As shown, the ELDhead 306 is not coupled to the ELD dongle base 303. As such, the overallsize of the ELD dongle 104 proximate the diagnostics port 116 of thevehicle 114 may be reduced relative to an ELD dongle 104 having the ELDhead 306 coupled directly to the ELD dongle base 303.

FIG. 13 shows a schematic example of the mobile device 102. The mobiledevice 102 may include a processor 1302, a memory 1304, a donglecommunication interface 1306, and a remote server communicationinterface 1308. The dongle communication interface 1306 may be capableof communicating with the ELD dongle 104 using, for example, the firstdata connection 108. In other words, the dongle communication interface1306 may be communicatively coupled to the mobile device communicationinterface 206 of the ELD dongle 104. Therefore, the dongle communicationinterface 1306 may be compatible with a cellular connection (e.g., GSM,UMTS, LTE, or any other suitable cellular connection), Bluetooth(including low energy Bluetooth), Wi-Fi, Universal Serial Bus, Ethernet,and/or any other suitable communication standards that may facilitatecommunication with the ELD dongle 104. The remote server communicationinterface 1308 may be capable of communicating with the remote server106 using, for example, the second data connection 110. In other words,the remote server communication interface 1308 may be communicativelycoupled to the remote server 106. Therefore, the remote servercommunication interface 1308 may be compatible with a cellularconnection (e.g., GSM, UMTS, LTE, or any other suitable cellularconnection), Bluetooth (including low energy Bluetooth), Wi-Fi,Universal Serial Bus, Ethernet, and/or any other suitable communicationstandards that may facilitate communication with the remote server 106.

In operation, the ELD dongle 104 may transmit at least operational data(e.g., vehicle data, data gathered by one or more sensors of the ELDdongle 104, and/or any other data monitored by the ELD dongle 104)related to the vehicle 114 to the mobile device 102 using the donglecommunication interface 1306. In other words, the ELD dongle 104 iscommunicatively coupled to the mobile device 102 such that the mobiledevice 102 receives the operational data from the ELD dongle 104. Asdiscussed herein, the ELD dongle 104 may encrypt data transmitted to themobile device 102 using, for example, the secure chip 218. As a result,the data may be resistant to tampering and/or alteration on behalf ofthe operator of the vehicle 114 and/or a third party. In some instances,the mobile device 102 may encrypt data transmitted to the ELD dongle104.

In some instances, the received data may then be stored in the memory1304 for a predetermined period of time. For example, the data may bestored for an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, or any othersuitable period of time. Upon the lapse of the predetermined period oftime, the mobile device 102 may transmit the stored data to the remoteserver 106 and/or may erase/delete the stored data. In some instances,the received data may be stored in the memory 1304 until the mobiledevice 102 is capable of connecting to, for example, a Wi-Fi or cellularnetwork. Upon connecting to the Wi-Fi or cellular network, the mobiledevice 102 may transmit the received data to the remote server 106. Themobile device 102 may store the received data in the memory 1304 for apredetermined period of time after transmitting the received data to theremote server 106 (e.g., 1 month, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, or anyother suitable period of time). However, in some instances, once thereceived data is transmitted, the mobile device 102 may erase/delete thestored data. Additionally, or alternatively, the received data may bestored in the memory 1304 until an instruction to transmit and/or deletethe received data is received by the mobile device 102. The mobiledevice 102 may transmit the stored data to the remote server 106 using,for example, the remote server communication interface 1308.

In some instances, the mobile device 102 may not store the received datain the memory 1304. For example, the mobile device 102 may transmit thereceived data directly to the remote server 106. In other words, themobile device 102 may be an intermediary that connects the ELD dongle104 to the remote server 106. In some instances, the mobile device 102may store a copy of the received data in the memory 1304 and transmitthe received data to the remote server 106. In other words, the mobiledevice 102 may be both an intermediary that connects the ELD dongle 104to the remote server 106 and be a backup that stores a copy of thereceived data.

In some instances, the mobile device 102 may include an ELD application1310 that includes one or more instructions stored in the memory 1304,that when executed by the processor 1302 cause the mobile device 102 tocarry out various operations. In some instances, the ELD application1310 may be implemented in circuitry such that the mobile device 102carries out the one or more operations.

The ELD application 1310 may cause the mobile device 102 to generate oneor more reports. For example, the mobile device 102 may generate one ormore reports that are based, at least in part on, data received from theELD dongle 104. The one or more reports may comply with one or moreregulatory requirements mandated by, for example, a government entity,an industry association, a corporation, and/or any other group. Forexample, in the United States, the generated reports may comply with oneor more regulations promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier SafetyAdministration (FMCSA). Examples of regulations promulgated by the FMCSAmay be found at Part 395 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations(which may also be found at 49 C.F.R. § 395) and Part 396 of the FederalMotor Carrier Safety Regulations (which also may be found at 49 C.F.R. §396). In some instances, the operator of the vehicle 114 may be able toselect which reports to generate and which compliance regulations thegenerated reports should comply with. Further, in some instances, theELD dongle 104 and/or the mobile device 102 may automatically determinewhich reports should be generated and which regulations should be usedto generate the one or more reports based, at least in part, on acurrent location of the vehicle 114. In some instances, the remoteserver 106 may determine which reports should be generated and whichregulations should be used to generate the one or more reports based,for example, at least in part, on a destination location and a departurelocation for the vehicle 114. For example, with respect to hours ofservice (HOS) logs/reports, the ELD dongle 104, the mobile device 102,and/or the remote server 106 may base the generated HOS log/report on,for example, one or more of a Canadian interpretation, a Californianinterpretation, an Alaskan interpretation, an oil field interpretation,a bus, coach, and passenger carrier interpretation, and/or any othersuitable interpretation. In some instances, the generated report mayaccount for one or more exceptions to one or more of the specifiedrequirements.

For example, the one or more reports may include any one or more of anhours of service (HOS) log/report, a driver vehicle inspection report,an International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) miles report, anInternational Registration Plan (IRP) miles report, a record of duty(ROD) status report, an operator report, and/or any other desiredreport. In some instances, the ELD application 1310 may includeinstructions that cause the mobile device 102 to generate an operatorannotated version of any one or more of the reports generated by themobile device 102. The annotated report may be stored in the memory 1304separately from the un-annotated report. The annotations may include,for example, manually entered corrections, comments, or any otherinformation. Both the annotated and un-annotated reports may be capableof being transmitted to the remote server 106. In some instances, theannotated and/or un-annotated reports may be transmitted to the remoteserver 106 at one or more of a predetermined time (e.g., at the end of a24 hour period), when the mobile device 102 connects to a Wi-Fi network,when the mobile device is capable of connecting to a cellular network(e.g., the vehicle 114 may travel through areas having little cellularcoverage and the one or more reports may only be capable of beingtransmitted intermittently), and/or the like. In some instances, theannotated and/or un-annotated reports may be transmitted in real-time(e.g., as the report is being generated, the generated portions aretransmitted to the remote server 106). Further, in some instances, oneor more of the reports may be generated by the ELD dongle 104 and may beencrypted by the secure chip 218 before being transmitted to, forexample, the mobile device 102.

One or more reports may record, for example, the elapsed time in whichthe vehicle 114 is in operation (e.g., drive time) and the elapsed timein which the vehicle 114 is not in operation (e.g., rest time) for a24-hour reporting period. In some instances, one or more reports mayinclude data relating to when the vehicle 114 is not in operation butthe operator of the vehicle 114 is on-duty. On-duty time may include,for example, drive time and any other activities relating to employment(including those employment activities not related to driving). One ormore reports may also include data relating to when the operator of thevehicle 114 if off-duty. Off-duty time may include those activities notrelating to employment, such as rest time. At the end of the 24-hourreporting period, one or more reports may be presented to the operatorof the vehicle 114 for verification/certification.

One or more reports may include one or more of the date (e.g., day,month, and year) on which one or more 24-hour reporting periodscommenced, the total driving miles in a respective reporting period,vehicle identification information (e.g., license number and licensingstate for each truck and/or trailer driven in the reporting period,and/or a vehicle identification number assigned to the vehicle 114), amotor carrier name, a main office address for the motor carrier,co-driver name (if applicable), the time base used (e.g., easternstandard time, pacific time, central time, etc. . . . ), driver remarks,total hours, and/or shipping document numbers or name of shipper andcommodity.

One or more of the reports may be based on a vehicle operator'sobservation and/or examination of various aspects of the vehicle 114before and/or after the vehicle 114 reaches a desired destination. Forexample, one or more of the reports may include data relating to one ormore of the brakes for the vehicle 114, brakes for any trailer coupledto the vehicle 114, the parking brake for the vehicle 114, the steeringmechanism for the vehicle 114, the lighting devices (e.g., headlights ortaillights), any reflectors coupled to the vehicle 114, the tires, thehorn, the windshield wipers, the rear vision mirrors, any couplingdevices, the wheels, the rims, and/or any emergency equipment. In someinstances, one or more of reports may include data relating to a trailercoupled to the vehicle 114 including, for example, data relating totrailer brakes, trailer lighting devices, trailer markers, trailerconspicuity marking materials, trailer wheels, trailer rims, trailerlugs, trailer tires, airline connections, airline hoses, airlinecouplers, king pin upper coupler device, rails/support frames, tie downbolsters, locking pins, devises, clamps, hooks, and/or sliders (orslider frame lock). If, during the vehicle operator's examination, thevehicle operator identifies a defect in the vehicle 114 the vehicleoperator may include that defect in one or more of the reports.

The IFTA miles report may include data necessary for compliance with theInternational Fuel Tax Agreement. Similarly the IRP miles report mayinclude data necessary for compliance with the InternationalRegistration Plan. In some instances, the operator of the vehicle 114may generate a report. In some instances, the operator generated reportmay be a report generated solely by the operator of the vehicle 114.Additionally, or alternatively, the operator generated report mayinclude one or more predetermined prompts for information that theoperator of the vehicle 114 may choose to answer. Any of the one or morereports may include a signature of the vehicle operator certifying theaccuracy of the one or more reports.

In some instances, one or more of the reports may be edited, annotated,and/or generated by a passenger in the vehicle 114. For example, whenthe passenger is connected to the ELD dongle 104 the passenger may edit,annotate, and/or generate one or more records while the operator of thevehicle 114 is driving the vehicle 114.

In some instances, the generated reports may be stored in the memory1304 of the mobile device 102 and/or the memory 210 of the ELD dongle104. The reports may be stored in the memory 1304 and/or the memory 210for a predetermined period of time or until the reports are transmittedto the remote server 106. For example, in some instances, the generatedreports may be transmitted to the remote server 106 immediately aftergeneration and not stored in the memory 1304 and/or the memory 210.However, in some instances it may be desirable to have the memory 1304,the memory 210, and/or the remote server 106 each to store copies of thegenerated reports for purposes of data preservation and backup. In someinstances, the memory 1304 and/or the memory 210 may not be able tostore all of the generated reports indefinitely and, therefore, somereports may be erased/deleted from the memory 1304 and/or the memory 210after a predetermined period of time. Similarly, the reports may beerased/deleted from the remote server 106 after a predetermined periodof time.

In some instances, the mobile device 102 may associate each of thegenerated reports with an identifier associated with the operator of thevehicle 114. As discussed herein, in some instances, the ELD dongle 104may associate the received data with an identifier associated with theoperator of the vehicle 114. However, in some instances, the ELDapplication 1310 may be used to associate the received data and/or thereports with an identifier associated with the operator of the vehicle114. For example, the operator of the vehicle 114 may enter logincredentials into the ELD application 1310. Upon verification of thelogin credentials, all data received from the ELD dongle 104 may beassociated with the operator of the vehicle 114 until, for example, themobile device 102 is disconnected from the ELD dongle 104 for apredetermined period of time. In some instances, the ELD dongle 104 maytransmit (e.g., automatically or in response to a request) the vehicleidentification number (VIN) to the mobile device 102. The ELDapplication 1310 may then cause the VIN to be associated with one ormore of the generated reports. In some instances, the generated reportsmay be associated with both the VIN and the identifier associated withthe operator of the vehicle 114.

In some instances, multiple operators may use a single ELD dongle 104and/or a single vehicle 114. In other words, multiple operators may usethe same vehicle 114. Therefore, multiple operators may also use thesame ELD dongle 104. As a result, the mobile device 102, the ELD dongle104, and/or the remote server 106 may be capable of verifying thecredentials of multiple operators using a single ELD dongle 104.Similarly, in some instances, multiple operators may use the same mobiledevice to connect to one or more ELD dongles 104. As a result, themobile device 102, the ELD dongle 104, and/or the remote server 106 maybe capable of verifying the credentials of multiple operators using asingle mobile device 102.

In some instances, one or more of the reports may be presented to theoperator of the vehicle 114 via a display 1312 communicatively coupledto the mobile device 102. For example, the display 1312 may be includedwith the mobile device 102. In some instances, the display 1312 may becapable of responding to touch inputs such that the operator of thevehicle 114 may interact with the mobile device 102 using the display1312. In other words, the mobile device 102 may be, for example, asmartphone or a tablet computer, wherein the display 1312 is responsiveto touch.

The ELD application 1310 may include one or more instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor 1302, cause the display 1312 to generate amobile device graphic user interface (GUI) that can be viewed and/ormanipulated by the operator of the vehicle 114. In other words, themobile device GUI may be interactive such that one or more user inputscause the mobile device GUI to change (e.g., changing the informationbeing displayed). FIGS. 14A-14F show example embodiments of an examplethe mobile device GUI.

The mobile device GUI may, for example, present the operator of thevehicle 114 with options to view, enter, edit, and/or annotate reports(see, e.g., FIG. 14A). In some instances, the display 1312 may presentdata related to one or more vehicle characteristics recorded by the ELDdongle 104. In some instances, the mobile device GUI may be a graphicalrepresentation of one or more HOS logs/records (see, e.g., FIG. 14B).For example, the mobile device GUI may display the total on-duty time,total off-duty time (e.g., rest time), and/or total on-duty timeremaining. Further, in some instances when, for example, the operator ofthe vehicle 114 exceeds that allowable total on-duty time, an alert maybe generated and displayed using the mobile device GUI. In someinstances, the alert may also include an audible component. The totalon-duty time remaining may be based, at least in part, on a regulatoryrequirement that specifies, for example, total on-duty time in a 24-hourperiod and/or the total on duty time for an ongoing 24-hour period. Insome instances, the mobile device GUI may generate one or more enginediagnostic gauges that provide digital representations (e.g.,animations) of data received from the ELD dongle 104 (see, e.g., FIG.14C). This may include, for example, a digital representation of enginespeed (e.g., a tachometer), a digital representation of enginetemperature, a digital representation of vehicle speed, and/or othersimilar data.

In some instances, the mobile device GUI may include prompts that allowthe operator of the vehicle 114 to enter information to be stored in thememory 1304. The entered information may be used to generate one or morereports or to alter one or more previously generated reports. Forexample, the mobile device GUI may include prompts to allow the operatorof the vehicle 114 to change his/her identification from vehicleoperator (e.g., driver) to passenger. In some instances, the mobiledevice GUI may include, for example, prompts to allow an operator of thevehicle 114 to change his/her duty status between, for example, on-dutydriving, on-duty not driving, and off-duty (see, e.g., FIG. 14B). Theon-duty not driving status may include non-driving activities of avehicle operator, for example, yard work and/or vehicle inspections. Insome instances, the mobile device GUI may include prompts that requestand/or allow an operator of the vehicle 114 to certify any generatedrecords. Certification of the generated records may include the operatorcertifying that the generated records comply with legal regulationsand/or corporate requirements. In some instances, the mobile device GUImay include a prompt that allows a driver to cause one or more generatedrecords to be transmitted to a third party (e.g., a law enforcementofficial or a corporate officer using for example wireless connectionsuch as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and/or a wired connection such as USB orEthernet). Prior to transmitting the one or more generated records to athird party, the mobile device GUI may include one or more prompts thatallow the operator of the vehicle 114 to include remarks and/orannotations on the generated reports to be transmitted to the thirdparty. Further, the mobile device GUI may allow the operator of thevehicle 114 to manually enter locations of the vehicle 114. In someinstances, the mobile device GUI may include prompts that allow theoperator of the vehicle 114 to select a default display language for themobile device GUI. For example, the operator of the vehicle 114 may beable to select between at least two or more of Spanish, English, French,Portuguese, German, and/or any other language. In some instances, themobile device GUI may include a prompt that requests the operator of thevehicle 114 to enter login credentials (see, e.g., FIG. 14D). Further,in some instances, the mobile device GUI may include a menu thatpresents the operator of the vehicle 114 with multiple options (see,e.g., FIG. 14E). The menu may be capable of being accessed and/ordisplayed at any time during the operation of the ELD application 1310.The menu may provide the operator of the vehicle 114 with a prompt toreturn to a predetermined display (e.g., a home screen), a prompt toreview and/or create a record (e.g., a driver vehicle inspectionreport), an option to engage in a mobile messaging feature, and/or asettings option (e.g., to allow the operator of the vehicle 114 tochange one or more functions of the ELD application 1310). In someinstances, when the mobile messaging feature is accessed, the operatorof the vehicle 114 may be able to communicate with, for example, his/heremployer and/or other vehicle operators (see, e.g., FIG. 14F). In someinstances, the messaging feature may be disabled when the vehicle 114 isin motion.

Referring again to FIG. 13, the ELD application 1310 may include one ormore instructions that cause the mobile device 102 to request and/orreceive a firmware update for the ELD dongle 104 from the remote server106. In some instances, the mobile device 102 may include a separateapplication that causes the mobile device 102 to request and/or receivea firmware update for the ELD dongle 104 from the remote server 106.Additionally or alternatively, the firmware update may be requested fromand/or received from a third party server that is different from theremote server 106. For example, the firmware update may be received from(e.g., downloaded from) a server hosting a digital distributionmarketplace. The firmware update may improve the function of the ELDdongle 104 (e.g., mitigate software bugs), update/improve the encryptionprotocols used by the ELD dongle 104, introduce new functions and/orcapabilities to the ELD dongle 104 (e.g., updating and/or adding vehicleoperator behavior algorithms), and/or the like.

In some instances, the ELD application 1310 may include one or moreinstructions that cause the mobile device 102 to transmit or generateone or more documents. For example the mobile device 102 may include anoptical sensor 1314 (e.g., a camera) capable of capturing one or moreimages. In some instances, the ELD application 1310 may be capable ofperforming optical character recognition (OCR) on images captured by theoptical sensor 1314. The resulting OCR data may be used, for example, togenerate combined reports that utilize both data collected using the ELDdongle 104 and non-electronic data recorded by the operator of thevehicle 114.

Further, in some instances, the operator of the vehicle 114 may generateone or more data files (e.g., text documents) that are separate from thegenerated reports. The one or more data files and/or any captured imagesmay be generated independent from the ELD application 1310. However, insome instances, the one or more data files and/or captured images may begenerated using the ELD application 1310. Regardless, the ELDapplication 1310 may cause the one or more data files and/or capturedimages to be transmitted to the remote server 106. In some instances,the ELD application 1310 may cause one or more data files, one or moregenerated reports, and/or captured images to be transmitted to anotherdevice (e.g., to a mobile device belonging to an enforcement officialand/or another vehicle operator). Further, in some instances, the mobiledevice 102 may be able to send and receive e-mails that may include, forexample, one or more generated reports, one or more data files stored onthe mobile device, and/or one or more images stored on the mobile device102 to be transmitted via email (e.g., as an attachment).

The optical sensor 1314 may, in some instances, be used to read one ormore machine readable codes 1315 that are configured to be coupled tothe vehicle 114. For example, the machine readable code 1315 may be alinear barcode, a matrix barcode (e.g., a Quick Response (QR) Code),and/or any other suitable visual representation of data. For example,one or more machine readable codes 1315 may be coupled to the vehicle114 and/or the ELD dongle 104 (e.g., by using an adhesive and/or anadhesive tape). The machine readable code 1315 may, for example,represent data that may be used when connecting the mobile device 102 tothe ELD dongle 104. Therefore, the mobile device 102 may connect to theELD dongle 104 based, at least in part, on the machine readable code1315. For example, when the ELD dongle 104 is associated with arespective vehicle 114, the machine readable code 1315 may be affixed tothe vehicle 114 such that, when an operator of the vehicle 114 positionsthe machine readable code 1315 in view of the optical sensor 1314, theoptical sensor can read the machine readable code 1315 (e.g., byscanning or capturing an image of the machine readable code 1315). Themobile device 102 may then connect to the ELD dongle 104 associated withthe vehicle 114 based on the machine readable code 1315. In other words,the mobile device 102 may communicatively couple to the ELD dongle 104in response to the mobile device 102 reading the machine readable code1315. Therefore, the machine readable code 1315 may represent dataidentifying the ELD dongle 104 such that the user of the mobile device102 is not required to manually input data necessary to connect to theELD dongle 104. In some instances, the machine readable code 1315 may beable to be reproduced in the event of damage to the machine readablecode 1315 and/or if the ELD dongle 104 is moved to a different vehicle114. For example, the remote server 106 may include the data necessaryfor reproduction. Additionally, or alternatively, the mobile device 102and/or the ELD dongle 104 may include the data necessary forreproduction.

In some instances, the machine readable code 1315 may be a non-visualrepresentation of data. For example, the machine readable code 1315 maybe a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip, a magnetic stripecapable of storing data, a near field communication (NFC) chip, and/orany other form data representation. In these instances, the mobiledevice 102 may include, for example, one or more of an RFID reader, amagnetic strip reader, an NFC chip, and/or any other reader capable ofreading the machine readable code 1315.

As discussed herein, the ELD dongle 104 may include the GPS receiver212. However, in some instances, the mobile device 102 may also includea GPS receiver 1316. The GPS receiver 1316 may be used instead of or inaddition to the GPS receiver 212 in the ELD dongle 104. Therefore, insome instances, the ELD dongle 104 may not include the GPS receiver 212.Regardless, the GPS receiver 212 and/or the GPS receiver 1316 may beused to determine a location of the vehicle 114. The location of thevehicle 114 may be included in the one or more generated reports and/orassociated with the one or more generated reports.

The mobile device 102 may transmit to, for example, remote server 106the data received from the ELD dongle 104, one or more of the generatedreports, any operator generated data, files stored in the mobile device(including images and text documents), and/or other similar datastructures accessible to the mobile device 102. In some instances, themobile device 102 may transmit the data received from the ELD dongle104, one or more of the generated reports, any operator generated data,files saved in the mobile device (including images and text documents),and/or other similar data structures accessible to the mobile device 102to a printing device 1318 (e.g., an ink jet printer, a laser jetprinter, a thermal printer, and the like). The printing device 1318 maybe communicatively coupled to the mobile device 102 using a wiredconnection (e.g., Universal Serial Bus, Ethernet, and/or any suitablewired connection) and/or wireless connection (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi,and/or any suitable wireless connection). For example, in someinstances, the printing device 1318 may be communicatively coupled tothe mobile device 102 using, for example, the dongle communicationinterface 1306. In other words, the printing device 1318 and the ELDdongle 104 may each communicate with the mobile device 102 using thesame communication circuitry. The printing device 1318 may generate(e.g., print) physical versions of, for example, the one or moregenerated reports for presentation to, for example, law enforcementofficials. In some instances, the mobile device 102 may transmit dataincluding, one or more of the generated records, to one or moreenforcement officials using a wired and/or wireless connection. In theseinstances, the enforcement official may print physical copies of thereceived data or view digital copies of the received data on a digitaldevice (e.g., a computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, and thelike).

FIG. 15 shows an example of an embodiment of the remote server 106 ofFIG. 1. As shown, the remote server 106 may include a processor 1502,memory 1504, and a server communication interface 1506. The servercommunication interface 1506 may be communicatively coupled to themobile device 102 using, for example, the second data connection 110and/or the ELD dongle 104 using the third data connection 112.Therefore, the server communication interface 1506 may be compatiblewith a cellular connection (e.g., GSM, UMTS, LTE, or any other suitablecellular connection), Bluetooth, (including low energy Bluetooth),Wi-Fi, Universal Serial Bus, Ethernet, and/or other suitablecommunication standards.

The remote server 106 may receive, periodically (e.g., at predeterminedtimes, when the mobile device 102 is connected to Wi-Fi, when the mobiledevice 102 is capable of connecting to a cellular network, or the like)or in real-time, one or more reports generated by the mobile device 102,data generated by the operator of the vehicle 114, data received by themobile device 102 from the ELD dongle 104, a location of the mobiledevice 102 and/or ELD dongle 104, login credentials for an operatorand/or passenger of the vehicle 114, messages from an operator and/orpassenger of the vehicle 114, and/or any other data generated, stored,or received by the mobile device 102. In some instances, the remoteserver 106 may receive some or all of the data from the ELD dongle 104.

The memory 1504 may include instructions stored thereon, which whenexecuted by the processor 1502, cause the remote server 106 to carry outone or more operations. For example, the instructions may cause theremote server 106 to generate a server GUI using a display 1508. Theserver GUI may be interactive such that one or more user inputs causethe server GUI to change (e.g., changing the information beingdisplayed). Additionally, or alternatively, the server GUI may begenerated by a remote device 1510 (e.g., a remote computer, mobiledevice, and/or any other suitable device). In these instances, theremote server 106 may not generate the server GUI. Instead, the remoteserver 106 may be capable of communication with the remote device 1510and the remote device 1510 may generate the server GUI. Thecommunication between the remote device 1510 and the remote server 106may be over a network (e.g., the internet, a local area network, or anyother suitable network).

For example, the server GUI may display a real-time location of thevehicle 114 using positional data generated by the GPS receiver 212 ofthe ELD dongle 104 and/or the GPS receiver 1316 of the mobile device102. The real-time location data may be plotted on a map generated bythe server GUI. The server GUI may also display previous locations onthe generated map such that the route taken by the vehicle 114 may betracked. Therefore, in some instances, the server GUI may provide one ormore dispatching functions. For example, the server GUI may presentinformation relating to a schedule and whether or not a respectivevehicle operator is meeting the presented schedule (e.g., whether or notthe vehicle 114 is anticipated to arrive at its destination on time). Byway of further example, in some instances, the dispatching functions mayinclude rerouting one or more vehicles 114 by transmitting updatedrouting instructions to, for example, a respective mobile device 102.

In some instances, the remote server 106 may transmit vehicle locationsto a third party. For example, when the vehicle 114 reachespredetermined locations, the remote server 106 may cause a shortmessaging service (SMS) text message to be sent to a device belonging toa third party (e.g., a smartphone, a pager, a tablet computer, a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, and the like).

In some instances, the GUI may be capable of displaying the priorpositions of the vehicle 114 for a predetermined period of time. Forexample, the GUI may be capable of displaying positions of the vehicle114 for the prior thirty days. In these instances, the locations may beplotted on a map. Additionally, or alternatively, the locations may beincluded within a chart. For example, the chart may include mapcoordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) and/or nearby places ofinterest (e.g., a city/town, an address, a business, or other suitableplaces interest).

In some instances, the remote server 106 may generate a route for theoperator of the vehicle 114 to take based, at least in part, on acurrent position of the vehicle 114 and a desired destination for thevehicle 114. The route may be transmitted to the mobile device 102 suchthat the operator of the vehicle 114 may follow the generated route. Thegenerated route may be updated periodically or continuously based on acurrent position of the vehicle 114. In some instances, the route may bechanged based on the vehicle 114 not continuing follow the route.

The remote server 106 may include one or more waypoints/checkpoints inthe generated route. In some instances, at least one of thewaypoints/checkpoints may be included and/or changed by a user of theremote server 106 via the server GUI. The waypoints/checkpoints may beused to track the progress of the vehicle 114 as the vehicle 114traverses the generated route. The waypoints/checkpoints may also beused to determine when the vehicle 114 reaches a destination. Forexample, when the vehicle 114 reaches a waypoint/checkpoint located at adestination location, it may be indicative of a successful delivery(when the vehicle 114 is a delivery vehicle).

In some instances, a geo-fence (e.g., a polygonal geo-fence) may begenerated by the remote server 106 and/or a user of the remote server106 via the server GUI. The geo-fence may define a geographic region inwhich the vehicle 114 is permitted to operate. When the vehicle 114exits the geographic region defined by the geo-fence, the remote server106 may cause an alert to be generated. The alert may be displayed onthe server GUI and/or may be transmitted to a third party device (e.g.,a third party computer, mobile device, or any other suitable third partdevice).

In some instances, the remote server 106 is capable of executing one ormore macros. The one or more macros may be predefined, user defined,and/or adjustable. The one or more macros may cause the remote server106 to execute one or more instructions that cause the remote server 106to carry out one or more operations. In some instances, a single macromay cause the remote server 106 to execute at least two instructionsand/or carry out at least two operations. For example, a macro may beexecuted in response to the vehicle 114 reaching a waypoint/checkpoint.The execution of the macro may result in, for example, the geo-fencebeing updated, the route being updated, and/or a notification being sentto a third party regarding the present location of the vehicle 114. Byway of further example, one or more macros may be used to request thatthe mobile device 102 generate and/or transmit one or more reports(e.g., an HOS report/log) and/or data received/stored by the mobiledevice 102. In this instance, for example, after a predetermined periodof time (e.g., 24 hours) one or more macros may execute that cause themobile device 102 to generate and transmit one or more reports and/ordata received/stored by the mobile device 102. In other words, one ormore macros may be used to automate various features capable of beingperformed by any one or more of the mobile device 102, the ELD dongle104, and/or the remote server 106.

In some instances, the macros may generally be described as being one ormore security rules to generate, for example, one or more alerts ornotifications. The security rules may be predefined, user defined,and/or user adjustable. For example, in some instances, one or moresecurity rules may be deactivated and/or activated using the server GUI.By way of further example, in some instances new security rules may beadded and/or existing security rules may be modified or deleted. As aresult, the security rules may be changed and/or adapted based on theneeds of a given scenario.

In some instances, the security rules may correspond to one or morerules that are triggered in response to data received from, for example,the mobile device 102 regarding the vehicle 114. For example, a securityrule may be triggered in response to determining that the vehicle 114crossed a geo-fence and/or in response to determining a location of thevehicle 114. By way of further example, the security rule may betriggered based on data received from the mobile device that indicates acondition of the vehicle 114 (e.g., an instance of speeding, an instanceof rapid deceleration, and/or the like). When a security rule istriggered, the remote server 106 may, for example, transmit an alert(e.g., an SMS message) to the driver of the vehicle 114, a third party,and/or a user of the remote server 106 (e.g., administrative personnel).In some instances, when a security rule is triggered, the remote server106 may transmit a command to the vehicle 114. The command may cause thevehicle 114 to lock/unlock its doors, engage its directional signals,disable/enable its engine, and/or the like. For example, when thevehicle 114 is determined to be located at a specific location and/or tobe entering a specific region a security rule may be triggered causing acommand to be sent to the vehicle 114 to cause the vehicle 114 to lockits doors and the triggering of the security rule may also cause analert to the driver of the vehicle 114, a third party, and/or a user ofthe remote server 106 (e.g., administrative personnel).

In some instances, the remote server 106 may facilitate text based,video based, and/or audio based communications between the operator ofthe vehicle 114 and a third party. For example, the remote server 106may facilitate communications between multiple vehicle operatorsconnected to the remote server 106. Additionally, or alternatively, theremote server 106 may facilitate communications between one or morevehicle operators and a non-driving third party (e.g., an employer,administrator, and/or any other non-driving third party). Thecommunications may be initiated using, for example, one or more of themobile device GUI and/or the server GUI. For example, the operator ofthe vehicle 114 may, using the mobile device GUI, compose a text basedmessage. Upon completion of the text based message, the operator of thevehicle 114 may cause the mobile device 102 to transmit the text basedmessage to the remote server 106. The text based message may then bepresented using the server GUI and a response to the text based messagemay then be sent using the server GUI. Additionally, or alternatively,when the text based message is received by the remote server 106, theremote server 106 may cause an SMS text message to be generated andtransmitted to a third party mobile device. The third party mobiledevice may then respond to the SMS message using an SMS message. As aresult, the third party may respond to the text based message withoutaccessing the server GUI. Further, in some instances, for example, whenthe remote server 106 receives a text based message from the mobiledevice 102, the remote server 106 may forward the text based message toanother mobile device 102 communicatively coupled to the remote server106. In other words, the remote server 106 may facilitate communicationsbetween operators of vehicles 114.

In some instances, multiple individuals may have access to the remoteserver 106. For example, the operator of the vehicle 114 may have accessto the remote server 106 using the mobile device GUI. In thesesituations, the operator of the vehicle 114 may be granted access to theremote server 106 only if the operator's login credentials are verified.However, the operator of the vehicle 114 may only be able to accesslimited amounts of data stored on the remote server 106. For example,the operator of the vehicle 114 may only be able access data originatingfrom his/her mobile device 102 and/or ELD dongle 104. Further, theoperator of the vehicle 114 may not be able to alter data stored on theremote server 106. In other words, the operator of the vehicle 114 mayonly have read permissions. In some instances, the login credentials forthe operator of the vehicle 114 may, at least initially, be stored onlyon the remote server 106. For example, after the creation of anoperator's account, when an operator attempts to use his/her logincredentials for the first time, the login credentials may be downloadedto the mobile device 102 and/or the ELD dongle 104. Therefore,subsequent login attempts may not require access to the remote server106.

Further, administrative personnel (e.g., the employer) may also haveaccess to the remote server 106. The administrative personnel may beable to access data originating from multiple and/or every mobile device102 and/or ELD dongle 104 communicatively coupled to the remote server106. In other words, the administrative personnel may have access todata originating from multiple vehicles 114. Further, the administrativepersonnel may be able to read, alter, and/or delete data stored on theremote server 106. In other words, the administrative personnel may haveread and write permissions. Further, administrative personnel may beable to create additional accounts (e.g., when new operators areemployed), delete accounts (e.g., when operators are no longeremployed), change account permissions (e.g., when an employee ispromoted), and/or perform other desired account administrationfunctions. When a new account for a vehicle operator is created, theremote server 106 may transmit the new account information to, forexample, the mobile device 102 and/or the ELD dongle 104. The mobiledevice 102 and/or ELD dongle 104 may then associate data (including, forexample, generated reports) with the newly created account.

In some instances, the remote server 106 may receive data relating tothe vehicle 114. For example, the data may include one of more of speeddata, ignition status data, odometer data, engine speed data,acceleration data, brake data, clutch data, and/or any other datarelated to the vehicle 114. The data may be generated by, for example,by the electronic control unit 118, sensors included within the ELDdongle 104 (e.g., the accelerometer 217), and/or sensors included withinthe mobile device 102.

The data relating to the vehicle 114 may be used to, for example,analyze and/or visualize driver performance. The brake data may be usedto determine if the operator of the vehicle 114 improperly uses thebrakes for the vehicle 114 (e.g., the operator of the vehicle 114engages the brakes for prolonged periods). The brake data may also beused to determine if there was a sudden application of the brakes. Theclutch data may be used to determine if the operator of the vehicle 114improperly uses the clutch (e.g., the operator of the vehicle 114 usesthe clutch to slow the vehicle 114 instead of the brakes). Theacceleration data may be used, for example, to determine instances ofsudden acceleration and/or deceleration. The speed data may be used todetermine instances of speeding.

In some instances, the data relating to the vehicle 114 may bevisualized using one or more graphs or charts. For example, the serverGUI may display one or more of an acceleration chart, a braking chart, aclutch usage chart, a speed chart, a mileage chart, an engine speedchart, and/or any other chart based on any combination of availabledata. In some instances, the data may be visualized by providing anoperator performance rating. The operator performance rating may bevisualized as a number, a letter, a color, and/or a combination thereof.The operator performance rating may be based on, for example, anycombination of speed data, ignition status data, odometer data, enginespeed data, acceleration data, brake data, clutch data, and/or any otherdata related to the vehicle 114. In some instances, the operatorperformance rating may be used to calculate an operator performanceranking. The operator performance ranking may be representative of acomparison between two or more operators of one or more vehicles 114.For example, if a first operator has a higher operator performancerating than a second operator, the first operator may have a higheroperator performance ranking. The operator performance ranking may bevisualized as a number, a letter, a color, and/or a combination thereof.

The data relating to the vehicle 114 may also be used to, for example,determine a performance of the vehicle 114. For example, the datarelating to the vehicle 114 may be used to determine the gas mileage ofthe vehicle (e.g., in miles per gallon). The data relating to thevehicle 114 may also include one or more error codes generated by theelectronic control unit 118. In other words, the mechanical status ofthe vehicle 114 may be monitored and tracked using the remote server106. This data may then be displayed using, for example, the server GUI.Similar data may also be capable of being displayed and/or analyzedusing the mobile device 102 using, for example, the mobile device GUI.

The remote server 106 may receive and/or generate one or more reports.In some instances, the remote server 106 may generate a report based onpositional data received from one or more ELD dongles 104. Thepositional data may be used to track the present and/or past position(s)of the vehicle 114. For example, positional data may be provided for twoor more vehicles 114. In these instances, the positional data for eachof the vehicles 114 may be represented on a single map.

The remote server 106 may receive an HOS report/log from the mobiledevice 102. The HOS report/log may be accessible from the server GUI. Inother words, the server GUI may be used to manage one or more HOSreports/logs. For example, the server GUI may be used to edit, display,copy, delete/erase, annotate, and/or otherwise manage the HOSreport/log. In some instances, the remote server 106 may generate theHOS report/log based on data received from one or more of the ELD dongle104 and/or the mobile device 102. In these situations, the remote server106 may transmit the generated HOS report/log to the mobile device 102such that the operator of the vehicle 114 associated with the HOSreport/log can certify the accuracy of the HOS report/log.

Regardless of the source of the HOS report/logs, the remote server 106may categorize and store the HOS report/log such that the HOS report/logcan be accessed from the server GUI. For example, the remote server 106may, for example, store each HOS report/log by operator, by vehicle,and/or by date of generation. Therefore, the server GUI may present oneor more options and/or prompts that allow a user of the server GUI tosort and/or categorize HOS reports/logs to facilitate easier viewing.

Further, the remote server 106 may receive and/or generate one or moreadditional reports/logs, some examples of which are discussed herein.The server GUI may provide similar functionality for the viewing andmanipulation of the additional logs as is provided for the HOSlogs/reports. Accordingly, further discussion is omitted for the sake ofbrevity.

In some instances, the server GUI may be capable of displaying a summaryof one or more reports that have been received by the remote server 106over a predetermined period of time. For example, the server GUI maydisplay reports related to one or more drivers for the previous fivedays, previous week, previous month, previous fiscal quarter, and/or anyother suitable period time.

The remote server 106 may also receive and/or generate, for eachoperator operating at least one of the vehicles 114, total on-duty timeand/or total on-duty time remaining. The total on-duty time remainingmay be determined based, at least in part, on legal regulations. Thetotal on-duty time and/or total on-duty time remaining may be displayedon the server GUI for each operator. In some instances, the remoteserver 106 may receive data indicating that one or more operators areoff-duty. Based on this data the remote server 106 may determine thetotal off-duty time. In some instances, the remote server 106 mayreceive data indicating the total off-duty time from, for example, themobile device 102. The on-duty and off-duty data may be used to displayone or more indicators identifying a status of one or more operators.For example, an operator that is on-duty and driving may have a firstindicator associated with him/her, an operator that is on-duty and notdriving may have a second indicator associated with him/her, and/or anoperator who is off duty may have a third indicator associated withhim/her. The first, second, and third indicators may all be differentfrom each other. The first, second, and third indicators may bedisplayed proximate to, for example, an operator's identifier in theserver GUI. For example, the first indicator may be a green coloredindicator, the second indicator may be a yellow colored indicator, andthe third indicator may be a red colored indicator.

The server GUI may also be capable of generating and/or displaying asummary of all or a portion of all of the mobile devices 102 and/or ELDdongles 104 corresponding to a respective operator connected to theremote server 106. For example, the summary may display one or morealerts. For example, when one or more operators of one or more vehicles114 miss one or more waypoints/checkpoints, leave an area defined by ageo-fence, and/or engage in undesirable driving behavior (e.g., turningthe ignition off for the vehicle 114 while the vehicle 114 is still inmotion, exceeding a predefined speed limit, and/or the like), the serverGUI may display one or more alerts. In some instances, the remote server106 may cause the one or more alerts to be transmitted to a third partyusing, for example, an SMS message.

In some instances, the remote server 106 may be capable of sending anupdate and/or one or more configuration changes to one or more ELDdongles 104 and/or mobile devices 102. In other words, the remote server106 may configure the devices communicatively coupled to the remoteserver 106. This may allow for an entire fleet of ELD dongles 104 and/ormobile devices 102 to have the same or substantially same settingsand/or configurations. For example, the remote server 106 may be used todetermine the settings to be used by each of the ELD dongles 104 and/ormobile devices 102 in the ELD system 100 for generating one or morereports.

In some instances, the remote server 106 may include one or moreapplication program interfaces (APIs). The one or more APIs may allowfor one or more server GUIs to be developed such that the server GUI maybe tailored to meet specific needs. In some instances, the remote server106 may be used by multiple fleet operators and/or carriers. In otherwords, the remote server 106 may function as cloud storage forinformation/data (including one or more reports) received from one ormore mobile devices 102 and/or ELD dongles 104. As such, there may bemultiple server GUIs each capable of displaying data related to one ormore vehicles 114 belonging a respective fleet operator's and/orcarrier's fleet. Therefore, in some instances, the remote server 106 mayinclude one or more access restrictions to prevent fleetoperators/carriers from accessing data relating to another fleetoperator's/carrier's fleet.

FIG. 16 shows an example ELD system 1600, which may be an example of theELD system 100. As shown, the ELD system 1600 includes the ELD dongle104, the mobile device 102, and the remote server 106. The ELD dongle104 is shown as being communicatively coupled to the mobile device 102through a short range wireless connection 1602 (e.g., a Bluetoothconnection). The mobile device 102, which may be, for example, a mobilephone, is shown as being communicatively coupled to the remote server106 through a long range wireless connection 1604 (e.g., a cellularconnection). Vehicle data (e.g., data received via the diagnostics port116 of the vehicle 114) and/or data gathered by one or more sensors ofthe ELD dongle 104 may be transmitted from the ELD dongle 104 via theshort range wireless connection 1602 to the mobile device 102. Themobile device 102 may then transmit the received data to the remoteserver 106 via the long range wireless connection 1604.

When the ELD dongle 104 receives the vehicle data via the diagnosticsport 116 of the vehicle 114, the vehicle data may be in a format that isunusable by the mobile device 102 and/or the remote server 106. In thisinstance, the ELD dongle 104 may convert the vehicle data into a formatcapable of being used by the mobile device 102. Alternatively, thevehicle data may be converted into a format usable by the mobile device102 and/or the remote server 106 by the mobile device 102 and/or theremote server 106.

The ELD dongle 104 includes the secure chip 218 and the memory 210. Thememory 210 may include, for example, one or more copies of previouslyreceived vehicle data, data gathered by one or more sensors of the ELDdongle 104, operator information (e.g., login information), reportsgenerated using the vehicle data, and/or the like. The secure chip 218encrypts the memory 210 using a first encryption key and encrypts thedata to be transmitted to the mobile device 102 using a secondencryption key, the first encryption key being different from the secondencryption key. As a result, when data is transmitted to the mobiledevice 102 the data is encrypted. Such a configuration may preventtampering with, for example, the vehicle data during transmission to themobile device 102.

In some instances, the secure chip 218 is used to verify a firmwareupdate for the ELD dongle 104. The secure chip 218 may verify a firmwareupdate based on a hash value. For example, a keyed-hash messageauthentication code (HMAC) may be used when verifying the authenticityof a firmware update received by the ELD dongle 104. The HMAC may be anHMAC secure hash algorithm-256 (SHA-256), HMAC SHA-1, HMAC MD-5, and/orthe like.

As previously discussed, the mobile device 102 is communicativelycoupled to the ELD dongle 104 via the short range wireless connection1602. The mobile device 102 may establish the short range wirelessconnection 1602 in response to a machine readable code 1606 (e.g., a QRCode), which may be one example of the machine readable code 1315 ofFIG. 13, being positioned within a field of view of the optical sensor1314 of the mobile device 102. In other words, the mobile device 102 mayestablish a connection with the ELD dongle 104 based, at least in part,on reading the machine readable code 1606. When the short range wirelessconnection 1602 is a Bluetooth connection, the machine readable code1606 may represent, for example, a passkey for establishing theBluetooth connection, an identifier (e.g., an address) for the ELDdongle 104, and/or any other data related to establishing a connectionto the ELD dongle 104.

The mobile device 102 includes the memory 1304. The memory 1304 includesa decryption key for decrypting the encrypted data received from the ELDdongle 104 and an encryption key for encrypting the memory 1304. Thedecryption and encryption keys may be protected in the memory 1304 usingcode obfuscation. Code obfuscation may prevent third parties fromobtaining the decryption and encryption keys. Code obfuscation may alsobe used to protect one or more programs running on the mobile device 102from reverse engineering.

When the mobile device 102 receives the encrypted data, the mobiledevice 102 decrypts the data. The mobile device 102 may generate one ormore reports (e.g., HOS logs) based, at least in part, on the decrypteddata. The reports generated by the mobile device 102 can be reviewedand/or modified by an operator of the vehicle 114 using the mobiledevice 102. The mobile device 102 includes the display 1312 such that,for example, one or more of the reports generated by the mobile device102 can be presented on the display 1312. As a result, an operator ofthe vehicle 114 can readily review and/or modify one or more reportsgenerated by the mobile device 102. In some instances, the mobile device102 may store multiple reports in the memory 1304 such that an operatormay be able to review and/or modify previously generated reports. Forexample, the memory 1304 may include reports corresponding to theprevious 5 days, the previous 7 days, the previous 10 days, the previous15 days, the previous 30 days, the previous 6 months, the previous year,and/or any other suitable period of time.

The mobile device 102 may transmit the decrypted data to the remoteserver 106. In some instances, the decrypted data may be re-encryptedbefore the mobile device 102 transmits the data to the remote server106. For example, the data may be transmitted pursuant to the hypertexttransfer protocol secure (HTTPS). Alternatively, the mobile device 102may not decrypt the data prior to transmitting the data to the remoteserver 106. For example, the mobile device 102 may only decrypt the dataafter transmitting the encrypted data to the remote server 106.

When the data is received by the remote server 106 (e.g., from themobile device 102), the remote server 106 may generate one or morereports (e.g., HOS logs) based, at least in part, on the received data.For example, each of the reports capable of being generated on themobile device 102 may additionally (or alternatively) be generated onthe remote server 106. In some instances, the remote server 106 maygenerate one or more duplicate reports to serve as a backup for reportsgenerated at the mobile device 102. Additionally or alternatively, theremote server 106 may generate one or more reports that are notgenerated at the mobile device 102. For example, the remote server 106may be capable of generating one or more reports summarizing a driver'sperformance to be used by administrative personnel. By way of furtherexample, the remote server 106 may generate one or more reportssummarizing driver violations (e.g., instances of speeding, instances ofexceeding total allowable drive time, instances of hard breaking, and/orthe like).

In some instances, the mobile device 102 may send a request/demand tothe remote server 106 that causes the remote server 106 to transmit oneor more reports stored at the remote server 106. For example, the mobiledevice 102 may transmit a demand to the remote server 106 to transmit areport currently not available on the mobile device 102. Such a demandmay be sent in response to, for example, the mobile device 102 failingand/or being upgraded/replaced (resulting in a deletion of reportsstored on the mobile device 102). As a result, the mobile device 102 maybe able to restore/recover reports lost due to a failure. When a demandis received, the remote server 106 may transmit the report using, forexample, e-mail, a webserver, and/or any other suitable form of filetransmission.

FIG. 17 shows an example ELD system 1700, which may be an example of theELD system 100. As shown, the ELD system 1700 includes the mobile device102 communicatively coupled to the ELD dongle 104 and the remote server106. As shown, the remote server 106 includes a tracking gateway server1702 and an hours of service server 1704. The tracking gateway server1702 includes memory 1706. The memory 1706 may include tracking datathat corresponds to a location of the vehicle 114 (e.g., both presentand previous locations). The memory 1706 may also security rules thatare triggered, for example, based on vehicle condition and/or location.The memory 1706 may still further include telemetry data related to thevehicle 114 (e.g., vehicle data). The memory 1706 may also includecommands (e.g., one or more instructions that manipulate the vehicle114). For example, the commands may cause the cause the vehicle 114 tolock its doors, engage its directional indicators, disable its engine,and/or the like. The memory 1706 may also include any other data. Asshown, the hours of service server 1704 includes memory 1708. The memory1708 may include data related to hours of service logs and data forvarious vehicle operators, information pertaining to one or more vehicledrivers (e.g., name, driver's license number, fleets with which thedriver is associated, and/or the like), and/or any other data.

As also shown, the tracking gateway server 1702 and the hours of serviceserver 1704 are communicatively coupled to, for example, a terminal 1710(e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a smartphone, a tablet,and/or the like) having the display 1508 for presenting the server GUI.In some instances, the terminal 1710 may be coupled to the trackinggateway server 1702 and the hours of service server 1704 using a network(e.g., the internet). The terminal 1710 may allow administrativepersonnel to review one or more reports/data, cause one or more reportsto be transmitted to, for example, the mobile device 102, cause one ormore reports to be generated, and/or any other review, transmission,and/or analysis procedure.

FIG. 18 shows one example of instructions that may be stored in thememory 210 of the ELD dongle 104. For example, the memory 210 mayinclude one or more instructions causing the ELD dongle 104 to carry outoperation 1802. The operation 1802 may include receiving vehicle datausing the diagnostics communication interface 204, wherein thediagnostics communication interface 204 may be communicatively coupledto the diagnostics port 116 of the vehicle 114. Additionally, oralternatively, the memory 210 may include one or more instructionscausing the ELD dongle 104 to carry out operation 1804. The operation1804 may include encrypting the received vehicle data from the vehicle114 using the secure chip 218. Additionally, or alternatively, thememory 210 may include one or more instructions causing the ELD dongle104 to carry out operation 1806. The operation 1806 may includetransmitting the encrypted vehicle data to the mobile device 102.Additionally, or alternatively, the memory 210 may include one or moreinstructions causing the ELD dongle 104 to carry out operation 1808. Theoperation 1808 may include storing the encrypted vehicle data in thememory 210. Additionally, or alternatively, the memory 210 may includeone or more instructions causing the ELD dongle 104 to carry out anoperation 1810. The operation 1810 may include at least one of verifyingan identity of an operator of the vehicle and/or verifying anauthenticity of a firmware update. The memory 210 may include any one ormore of the above instructions and/or may include additionalinstructions, consistent with the present disclosure. Further, the ELDdongle 104 may carry out the operations in any suitable order.

FIG. 19 shows one example of instructions that may be stored in thememory 1304 of the mobile device 102. For example, the memory 1304 mayinclude one or more instructions causing the mobile device 102 to carryout an operation 1902. The operation 1902 may include reading themachine readable code coupled to the vehicle 114 using the opticalsensor 1314. Additionally, or alternatively, the memory 1304 may includeone or more instructions causing the mobile device 102 to carry out anoperation 1904. The operation 1904 may include connecting to the ELDdongle 104 based, at least in part, on the machine readable code.Additionally, or alternatively, the memory 1304 may include one or moreinstructions causing the mobile device 102 to carry out an operation1906. The operation 1906 may include receiving data using the donglecommunication interface 1306, the dongle communication interface 1306being communicatively coupled to the ELD dongle 104. Additionally, oralternatively, the memory 1304 may include one or more instructionscausing the mobile device 102 to carry out an operation 1908. Theoperation 1908 may include generating one or more reports based, atleast in part, on the received data. The memory 1304 may include any oneor more of the above instructions and/or may include additionalinstructions, consistent with the present disclosure. Further, themobile device 102 may carry out the operations in any suitable order.

FIG. 20 shows one example of instructions that may be stored in, forexample, the memory 1504 of the remote server 106. For example, thememory 1504 may include one or more instructions causing the remoteserver 106 to carry out an operation 2002. The operation 2002 mayinclude generating at least one operator's account, the operator'saccount being associated with an operator of the vehicle 114.Additionally, or alternatively, the memory 1504 may include one or moreinstructions causing the remote server 106 to carry out an operation2004. The operation 2004 may include transmitting the at least oneoperator's account to at least one of the mobile device 102 and/or anELD dongle 104. Additionally, or alternatively, the memory 1504 mayinclude one or more instructions causing the remote server 106 to carryout an operation 2006. The operation 2006 may include receiving at leastone of vehicle data or a report based, at least in part, on the vehicledata from the mobile device 102 communicatively coupled to the ELDdongle 104, the ELD dongle 104 being communicatively coupled to thevehicle 114, wherein the received vehicle data or the received report isassociated with the at least one operator's account. Additionally, oralternatively, the memory 1504 may include one or more instructionscausing the remote server 106 to carry out an operation 2008. Theoperation 2008 may include causing the at least one report or thevehicle data to be displayed on a server graphical user interface (GUI).The memory 1504 may include any one or more of the above instructionsand/or may include additional instructions, consistent with the presentdisclosure. Further, the remote server 106 may carry out the operationsin any suitable order.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided amobile device for use in an electronic logging device (ELD) system. Themobile device may include a processor and one or more memories whichstore, singularly or in combination, one or more instructions, whichwhen executed by the processor cause the mobile device to carry out oneor more operations. The one or more operations may include reading amachine readable code configured to be coupled to a vehicle, connectingto an ELD dongle based, at least in part, on the machine readable code,receiving data from the ELD dongle, and generating one or more mobiledevice reports based, at least in part, on the received data.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure there is providedan electronic logging device (ELD) dongle for use in an ELD system. TheELD dongle may include a processor and one or more memories. The one ormore memories may store, singularly or in combination, one or moreinstructions, which when executed by the processor cause the ELD dongleto carry out one or more operations. The one or more operations mayinclude receiving vehicle data using a diagnostics communicationinterface, the diagnostics communication interface being communicativelycoupled to a diagnostics port of a vehicle, encrypting the receivedvehicle data from the vehicle using a secure chip, and transmitting theencrypted vehicle data to a mobile device.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure there isprovided an electronic logging device (ELD) dongle for use in an ELDsystem. The ELD dongle may include an ELD dongle base and an ELD headdetachably coupled to the ELD dongle base. The ELD head may include amobile device communication interface configured to communicativelycouple to a mobile device. The ELD dongle may also include a diagnosticscommunication interface. The diagnostics communication interface may beconfigured to communicatively couple the ELD head with a diagnosticsport of a vehicle.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure there isprovided a mobile device for use in an electronic logging device (ELD)system. The mobile device may include a processor and one or morememories which store, singularly or in combination, one or moreinstructions, which when executed by the processor cause the mobiledevice to carry out one or more operations. The one or more operationsmay include connecting to an ELD dongle, receiving data from the ELDdongle, transmitting the received data to a remote server for generationof one or more remote server reports, and generating one or more mobiledevice reports based, at least in part, on the received data.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure there isprovided an electronic logging device (ELD) system. The ELD system mayinclude an ELD dongle configured to be communicatively coupled to avehicle and a mobile device configured to be communicatively coupled tothe ELD dongle. The mobile device may communicatively couple to the ELDdongle in response to the mobile device reading a machine readable code.The ELD system may also include a remote server configured to becommunicatively coupled to the mobile device.

The present disclosure describes the generation of various reports. Itshould be appreciated that, in view of the present disclosure, each ofthe described reports can be generated by the mobile device 102, the ELDdongle 104, and/or remote server 106.

The one or more GUIs and/or applications discussed herein may beimplemented, for example, using any combination of hardwired circuitry,programmable circuitry, state machine circuitry, and/or firmware thatstores instructions executed by programmable circuitry. In someinstances, the GUIs and/or applications may be stored on a storagemedium. The storage medium may include any type of tangible,non-transitory storage medium, for example, any type of disk includingfloppy disks, optical disks, compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs),compact disk rewritables (CD-RWs), and magneto-optical disks,semiconductor devices such as read-only memories (ROMs), random accessmemories (RAMs) such as dynamic and static RAMs, erasable programmableread-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmableread-only memories (EEPROMs), flash memories, magnetic or optical cards,or any type of storage media suitable for storing electronicinstructions.

The one or more memory devices described herein (e.g., memory 210,memory 1304, and/or memory 1504) may be any combination of one or moreof the following types of memory: semiconductor firmware memory,programmable memory, non-volatile memory, read only memory, electricallyprogrammable memory, random access memory, flash memory, magnetic diskmemory, and/or optical disk memory.

While several embodiments of the present disclosure have been describedand illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readilyenvision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing thefunctions and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of theadvantages described herein, and each of such variations and/ormodifications is deemed to be within the scope of the presentdisclosure. More generally, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, andconfigurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that theactual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations willdepend upon the specific application or applications for which theteachings of the present disclosure is/are used.

Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain usingno more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specificembodiments of the disclosure described herein. It is, therefore, to beunderstood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way ofexample only and that, within the scope of the appended claims andequivalents thereto, the disclosure may be practiced otherwise than asspecifically described and claimed. The present disclosure is directedto each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/ormethod described herein. In addition, any combination of two or moresuch features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, ifsuch features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods arenot mutually inconsistent, is included within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in thespecification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to thecontrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

The terms “couple” and “coupled,” as used herein, encompass both directand indirect coupling unless clearly indicated to the contrary.

The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in theclaims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements soconjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some casesand disjunctively present in other cases. Other elements may optionallybe present other than the elements specifically identified by the“and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elementsspecifically identified, unless clearly indicated to the contrary.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile device comprising: a processor; and oneor more memories which store, singularly or in combination, one or moreinstructions, which when executed by the processor cause the mobiledevice to carry out operations comprising: reading a machine readablecode configured to be coupled to a vehicle; connecting to an electroniclogging device (ELD) dongle based, at least in part, on the machinereadable code; receiving data from the ELD dongle; and generating one ormore mobile device reports based, at least in part, on the receiveddata.
 2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the received data isencrypted at the ELD dongle by a secure chip.
 3. The mobile device ofclaim 1, wherein the mobile device further carries out an operation oftransmitting received data to a remote server to generate one or moreremote server reports.
 4. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the ELDdongle is communicatively coupled to the mobile device using a Bluetoothconnection.
 5. The mobile device of claim 4, wherein the machinereadable code is a matrix barcode, the matrix barcode beingrepresentative of at least one of a passkey or an address forestablishing the Bluetooth connection between the ELD dongle and themobile device.
 6. An electronic logging device (ELD) dongle, comprising:a processor; and one or more memories, which store, singularly or incombination, one or more instructions, which when executed by theprocessor cause the ELD dongle to carry out operations comprising:receiving vehicle data using a diagnostics communication interface, thediagnostics communication interface being communicatively coupled to adiagnostics port of a vehicle; encrypting the received vehicle data fromthe vehicle using a secure chip; and transmitting the encrypted vehicledata to a mobile device.
 7. The ELD dongle of claim 6, wherein theencrypted vehicle data is transmitted to the mobile device usingBluetooth.
 8. The ELD dongle of claim 7, further comprising an ELDdongle base and an ELD head detachably coupled to the ELD dongle base.9. The ELD dongle of claim 8, wherein the ELD head includes a mobiledevice communication interface configured to communicatively couple to amobile device.
 10. The ELD dongle of claim 9, wherein the mobile devicecommunication interface communicatively couples to the mobile device inresponse to the mobile device reading a machine readable code configuredto be coupled to a vehicle.
 11. An electronic logging device (ELD)dongle comprising: an ELD dongle base; an ELD head detachably coupled tothe ELD dongle base, the ELD head including a mobile devicecommunication interface configured to communicatively couple to a mobiledevice; and a diagnostics communication interface, the diagnosticscommunication interface being configured to communicatively couple theELD head with a diagnostics port of a vehicle.
 12. The ELD dongle ofclaim 11, further comprising a secure chip, the secure chip encryptingdata received from the vehicle.
 13. The ELD dongle of claim 11, whereinthe mobile device communication interface communicatively couples to themobile device using Bluetooth.
 14. The ELD dongle of claim 11, whereinthe mobile device communication interface communicatively couples to themobile device in response to the mobile device reading a machinereadable code configured to be coupled to a vehicle.
 15. The ELD dongleof claim 14, wherein the machine readable code is a matrix barcode. 16.A mobile device comprising: a processor; and one or more memories whichstore, singularly or in combination, one or more instructions, whichwhen executed by the processor cause the mobile device to carry outoperations comprising: connecting to an electronic logging device (ELD)dongle; receiving data from the ELD dongle; transmitting the receiveddata to a remote server for generation of one or more remote serverreports; and generating one or more mobile device reports based, atleast in part, on the received data.
 17. The mobile device of claim 16,wherein the mobile device connects to the ELD dongle in response to themobile device reading a machine readable code configured to be coupledto a vehicle.
 18. The mobile device of claim 17, wherein the machinereadable code is a matrix barcode.
 19. The mobile device of claim 16,wherein the received data is encrypted at the ELD dongle by a securechip.
 20. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the ELD dongle iscommunicatively coupled to the mobile device using a Bluetoothconnection.
 21. An electronic logging device (ELD) system comprising: anELD dongle configured to be communicatively coupled to a vehicle; amobile device configured to be communicatively coupled to the ELDdongle, wherein the mobile device communicatively couples to the ELDdongle in response to the mobile device reading a machine readable code;and a remote server configured to be communicatively coupled to themobile device.
 22. The ELD system of claim 21, wherein the machinereadable code is a matrix barcode.
 23. The ELD system of claim 21,wherein the mobile device receives data from the ELD dongle.
 24. The ELDsystem of claim 23, wherein the mobile device transmits the datareceived from the ELD dongle to the remote server.
 25. The ELD system ofclaim 24, wherein the mobile device generates one or more mobile devicereports based, at least in part, on the data received from the ELDdongle and the remote server generates one or more remote server reportsbased, at least in part, on the data transmitted by the mobile device.26. The ELD system of claim 21, wherein the ELD dongle includes a securechip for encrypting data transmitted to the mobile device.
 27. The ELDsystem of claim 21, wherein the ELD dongle includes an ELD dongle baseand an ELD head detachably coupled to the ELD dongle base.